Establishing Procedures

Right from the outset of the class, a teacher should take time to establish their procedures. There are several things I specifically cover in the first day of class. First, I dispel the myth of students needing to be good at math to be a good programmer. As renowned high school CS educator Seth Reicheslon likes to state, the only things students need to learn to program is how to divide by 3, how to find the remainder, and how to count starting from 0 (Reicheslon, 2019). That isn't to say I don't forewarn students about difficulties they will face. For most of the students, this will likely be their first foray into coding and it will come with struggles, but this is exactly where the learning will happen.

Next, students are told what they need to bring to class and how to handle their technology. In this same slide, they are instructed to give their respect and to listen when others are speaking, framing this in the positive (that they give). I usually prompt students to discuss if this is fair, which usually is met with approval, and gives me something to reference back to when students fail to do so. The act of prompting students for their approval is aligned with involving students in defining expectations.

Final point of this slide is to "give your help, not your code". It's no secret that plagiarism is on the rise thanks to advent of digital technology making copying and pasting an easy feat (Jones 2011; Fish & Hura 2013; Šorgo A, Vavdi M., Cigler U., Kralj M. 2015). Coding is no exception, but students don't always have this perception. It's important to take some time to explain how it is still plagiarism to use others' code for their own submissions. Like all instances of plagiarism, it will be sent to the school's honor council and can carry significant consequences for having been broken. However, I don't want to discourage students from helping one another, as working as a team is an invaluable skill we will practice regularly, hence the mantra I devised and yet another example of framing things in the positive.

Finally I take some time to talk about constructive feedback (see the last section on the importance of this) and how to contact me with issues or need of assistance. I won't harp on the feedback any further, but the assistance part is important. Students can sometimes be afraid of asking for help, particularly of their instructors. For this reason, I make it a point to let them know it is always welcome and not a burden by any means. Some students will take this naturally, but for others it will need be reinforced throughout the year.

In case it is useful, feel free to view and copy my slide deck for my high school level courses.